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Based on what facts or beliefs? Every time someone wants to bash Canadian healthcare he usually takes one of two paths: A- A story about someone who couldn't get state of the art care in East Iceberg NW Territory population 32. B- That someone had to wait a couple of weeks for an orthopedic MRI for a noncritical condition. A leaves out the fact that there are plenty of places in the US which don't have state of the art facilities and B leaves out the fact that acute cases have the same response time (immediate) and comparable results to treatment in the US.

The wait times in Canada for noncritical care are not due to shortages, they are due to thrift.

Where I live we have many seasonal guests that actually make sure they try to eliminate all of their health care needs before they return home to Canada.

I know other Canadian residents that had to fly to Europe for procedures such as heart surgery, as the waiting list was longer then the patient was comfortable with. These are real conversations with real people.

Several doctors that I have became friends with here in Nevada have retired or left. A couple of them kept jobs with Hospice or as home health care directors. One even broke a contract with the group that bought him out. They became tired of going to work and being three hours behind as soon as they walked in the door. It's only going to get worse next year. All the private practices have been bought out by large groups, and the large groups suffer from low reimbursements which results in very inefficient medical offices. Now patients in my area are told their doctor has retired and its up to 60 days or longer for an appointment with a new doctor. Most of these same patients need to be seen for medication refills by the new doctor. It's a huge mess already. It's very tough on the elderly patients. If you have an acute illness, you might as well plan on spending half the day at urgent care. Those on Medicaid just head to the ER.

Apart from being speculation on your part, Obamacare is not an NHS model.

How naive are you?

"The efforts of the government alone will never be enough. In the end the people must choose and the people must help themselves" ~ JFK; from his famous inauguration speech (What Democrats sounded like before today's neo-Liberals hijacked that party)

Where I live we have many seasonal guests that actually make sure they try to eliminate all of their health care needs before they return home to Canada.

I know other Canadian residents that had to fly to Europe for procedures such as heart surgery, as the waiting list was longer then the patient was comfortable with. These are real conversations with real people.

You can always find people to complain about healthcare. I would imagine that in Switzerland or Sweden there is someone who will declare that the system they have is impossible.

I know other Canadian residents that had to fly to Europe for procedures such as heart surgery, as the waiting list was longer then the patient was comfortable with. These are real conversations with real people.

I know people who went to Vietnam for dentistry. Does that mean that the US has inadequate dental care? BTW, call your dentist office out of the blue and say that you want a cleaning. If they can see you tomorrow, I'll faint.

Originally Posted by RobJohnson

Several doctors that I have became friends with here in Nevada have retired or left. A couple of them kept jobs with Hospice or as home health care directors. One even broke a contract with the group that bought him out. They became tired of going to work and being three hours behind as soon as they walked in the door.

Were you simply healthy until yesterday? In 1998 I routinely waited an hour to three hours to see the doctor at the vascular "clinic", ie private practice at Tampa General Hospital.

Doctors have been over scheduling patients for decades now. It's called "strategic understaffing" and it's the same reason you wait online to talk to a customer service rep at Verizon: to guarantee that every billable minute of every day is being used. This is why old people take those appointments in the early morning: because they are up at that time anyway and because the earlier your appointment the more likely you are to be seen somewhat close to your appointment time.

BTW- Medical groups are nothing new and have nothing to do with Obamacare. They are about making money. My GP from 1997-2000 belonged to one, and my GP since then is the managing partner of one. My current GP has a well run office which sees patients within a few minutes of their appointment time. Judging from his house and car, it pays well.

We do not have an NHS healthcare model. An NHS model is not created by ACA.

Obamacare is a National Healthcare System. And with it, all other insurance company will be going under because they way have it set up is that you don't get to chose who your provider will be. The ones they stick you with will be the select few that are affiliated with obama himself. Basically it comes down to whatever insurance company gave his campaign the most money. This is why everyone is getting upset with it. Botox Crack Smoker Pelosi said we have to pass it to see what is in it. Well now we are seeing and it is not good.

Obamacare is a National Healthcare System. And with it, all other insurance company will be going under because they way have it set up is that you don't get to chose who your provider will be. The ones they stick you with will be the select few that are affiliated with obama himself. Basically it comes down to whatever insurance company gave his campaign the most money. This is why everyone is getting upset with it. Botox Crack Smoker Pelosi said we have to pass it to see what is in it. Well now we are seeing and it is not good.

I read a letter to the editor in the St Pete Times the other day praising the author's trip to an NHS emergency room. So that cancels your wife's experience.

One letter negates a lifetime of experience? Seriously? What color is the sky in your world?

Originally Posted by Novaheart

My sister has made a living suing Kaiser Permanente on behalf of clients. Guess who she has her own insurance with?

Beats me. And this has what to do with the discussion at hand?

Originally Posted by Novaheart

Childrens Hospital National Medical Center was a hellhole when I was there as a youth. It still did groundbreaking work, but the facility was decrepit, hot in the summer, and freezing cold in the winter.

Washington Hospital Center looked like Lorton Prison before they built the new one.

But the operative term here is "built the new one." Who is going to build new hospitals when there are no profits to be made?

Originally Posted by Novaheart

Apart from being speculation on your part, Obamacare is not an NHS model.

Originally Posted by Novaheart

NHS refers to government owned and operated hospitals.

You are demonstrating the subtle distinction between socialism (where the state owns facilities outright) and fascism (where the state controls facilities by fiat, but permits the illusion of ownership). Obamacare is fascist economics, rather than outright socialism, but just because the poison has a happy face over the crossbones instead of a skull doesn't mean that you want to ingest it.